Death of a caterpillar
by VMLOV83
Summary: The Caterpillar that started it all...
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first attempt at a Gilmore Girls fanfic, I know its not perfect but I hope you will give it a go.**

**No beta so all mistakes are my own. English is not my first… okay that's a lie, I'm just not that good at it.**

**Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with the Gilmore Girls or there crazy town of Stars Hollow.**

**Chapter 1**

The diner had been empty for about twenty minutes, it would be about an hour and a half before the dinner rush started. Caesar had just left and Ben wouldn't start for another hour or so. Luke wiped the counter, cleared the last table and stacked the dish washer. It had been a busy day but now he had the diner to himself. This was Luke's favorite part of the day. The quiet relaxed him. He had been alone, mostly, now for nearly ten years. He had no family left in town and his on/off ex-girlfriend had recently headed to… Congo, Peru… it was hard to keep track.

Rachel had been in and out of his life since high school. She couldn't understand his persistence to stay in such a small town when there was a whole world to explore. Luke had nearly left once to go to college, when his father had gotten sick in his senior year of high school he declined his track scholarship and stayed in town to take care of him and run his failing business. From time to time Rachel would return and they would pick up where they had left off, each time she had promised to stay, and each time she had left. This last time he hadn't even been as saddened by her departure. The town had taken it worse that he had.

Miss Patty and Babette has only just stopped reassuring him that she would be back or that he was better without her, depending on the day, they couldn't seem to make their minds up. They expected him to be heart broken like the first time she had left him to attend college in New York. At times it was comforting to feel like someone cared, but mostly it droved him nuts. He knew what the towns people had started to say things behind his back, though often right in front of him. They called him a hermit, a loner and a grump, some had even started to compare him to his Uncle Louie, hearing that had bothered him the first time, his Uncle Louie was a very unhappy, grouch of a man, he chased people off, insulted them and was down right rude. Kids had been scared of him. Kids weren't scared of Luke… at least he didn't think they were, he never really had anything to do with them so he couldn't be sure.

Sometimes, especially after a stressful day Luke wondered why he stayed in Stars Hollow. People here were a little on the crazy side, everyone knew and was in every body's else's business.

But... Stars Hollow was his home. All his memories lived here.

Stars Hollow was where his mother had died, where his father had died. They were buried in the cemetery behind the church not even a mile away from where he stood re-filling the coffee machine. This building where his diner stood once was home to his fathers hardware store, a place that held a lot of fond memories. The hours he spent here with his father outside of school hours, the things his father had taught him, he could fix nearly anything, build and carve anything he wanted, a skill he didn't often need but was able to enjoy when the mood hit.

Alone he had tried and failed to save his fathers hardware store, in the end he did the one thing he could do… turn it into a diner.

His mother had loved to cook, she would always be in the kitchen trying to make there family meals as special and creative as possible. Luke had loved to watch her work in the kitchen growing up and as he got older she included him more and more in the preparations of their meals. After she had died cooking had lost its joy but there was no one else to do it. Liz had always been running off getting herself into trouble, his father could not cook and had little time for it, he tried but after a couple of attempts Luke silently took over. It took a few years it became less of a chore and fun again.

The diner's establishment was helped along by with the help of his parents best friends, Maisy and Buddy, who had a restaurant a couple of towns over. They gave him ideas helped perfecting his recipes and assisted him with selling his parents home it order to pay for the renovations. The day the diner opened he throw up and gave himself a concussion but the town had rallied around him and helped him make the diner a success. Though most of the menu was simple diner food, and not as creative, fancy or healthy as he may have liked or was capable of making, he had been able add his own special ingredients that kept people coming back.

It was times like back then that he was thankful to have born in Stars Hollow. Then there were the days when the town frustrated the hell out of him. Sometimes he needed to be left alone, no one pestering him to paint the diner, to hang a poster in his window and to talk when he didn't want or have anything to say.

Just that morning Taylor had been in to bug him about putting up a poster for the Fall Festival the following weekend, in the eight years since Luke had turned his fathers hardware store into a diner he had only once agreed to one of these requests, it had been early on and Luke was still finding his feet. The moment he had said yes Taylor and made him regret his decision, as he made one demand after another. One time and eight years later Taylor still persisted to ask. They had gotten into their usual fight which had ended with Luke refusing service and kicking Taylor out. Luke knew he would be hearing about it for weeks but it was almost worth it just for the look on his face when Taylor found himself out on the street.

The bell above the door rang telling Luke that his peace was over, with a sigh, hoping it was not Kirk back for a fourth time. Kirk had already been in three times and Luke knew to expected him to make at least two more appearances before the diner shut at ten. Kirk thought Luke was his best friend and was in and out of the diner several times each day to keep Luke informed on every little thing that happened in their town. Luke had made the mistake of scaring off some bullies once when they had been high school and had been followed around by the odd ball that was Kirk ever since

Luke turned around from the coffee pot he had just finished re-filling. There was a young girl standing in the door way… at least it wasn't Kirk.

"In or out," Luke said picking up his rag.

"Sorry," the girl answered uncertain, not quite sure what her decision was yet.

After a moment she slowly stepped in letting the door close behind her.

"Weston's is closed," she told him "death in the family, according to the sign on the door, poor Fran" she rambled on nervously, "Mom gave me money to get something after school as she would be stuck in a meeting. I had to go to the book store first," she told him gesturing to the book in her hand.

"Pride and Prejudice. Mom and I are watching the mini series on TV and I just had to get the book. I don't know how I got to the age of ten… nearly eleven, without reading anything by Jane Austen. We watched Clueless a few weeks ago and that was a reworking of Emma but after the first part of Pride and Prejudice I knew that this was the one I had to start with. I was suppose to get the book and wait at Weston's till Mom could pick me up."

Luke listed amazed at the amount of words coming out the girl mouth.,

"Normally I get a cupcake, I… you don't have cupcakes do you?" she asked but didn't give him a chance to answer, "do you have pie? I also like pie," the girl continued as she placed her bag at one of the tables, sitting down she opened her bag pulled and pulled out a jar,

"Lettuce?" she asked pausing for a moment.

"Sorry?" Luke responded , confused.

"For Darcy, I saw a documentary last night about the process of caterpillars becoming butterflies, when I saw Darcy on the tree outside my window this morning I couldn't believe my luck, now I can watch and document the process myself."

Luke took a small step forward to look at the jar she held up.

"Ah… I think your caterpillar may be dead," Luke told her as he caught a glimpse of the insect.

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><p><strong>So what do you think? I have got a few more chapters also started so I could update again soon if you think its worth it.<strong>

**If there's a delay its just because I ran out of internet for the month.**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

"_What?" the girl cried out raising the jar to her eye level. _

_She shook the jar gently, then a little harder when she didn't get a response._

"_The Jar," Luke explain worried about the tears he could see appearing in the girls blue eyes, she looked up at him, "… there are no holes… to…you know, let it breath,"_

"_But, he was fine at lunch time… I killed him," she said as a tear ran down her cheek._

"_No, no… it was an accident," Luke didn't know what to do, there was no one in the diner to help him, no one was passing by that he could call in, "please don't cry."_

"_I've never killed anything before… he was suppose to become a beautiful butterfly," she sniffled._

"_Or a moth," Luke offered._

"_A moth?" she asked quietly._

"_Yeah… some caterpillar become moths… Pie, you said you like pie," Luke rushed on_

_The girl nodded slightly._

"_I have pie… apple, blueberry, chocolate mud," he saw her eyes light up a little, "ahhh… chocolate mud pie it is."_

_He walked to the other end of the counter and removed the lid to one of the stands, he retrieved a plate and cut off a large slice. He hesitated a moment and lent over the counter to retrieve something else. This was maybe the one instance he might be thankful for Kirk he thought. He could feel the girls eyes follow his movements and he moved slightly to block her view as he made some additions to the slice he had cut. _

"_There we go, " he walked back to her and put the plate in front of her, "mud pie… with extra worms."_

_A small giggle was the only response he received. _

"_Do, you think it would be alright if I called your Mom, let her know where you are…?" Luke asked._

"_Independence Inn," he was told between mouthfuls._

"_I'll be right back… what's your mothers name?" he stopped and asked._

"_Lorelai Gilmore…" she told him, "… I'm Rory,"_

"_Nice to meet you Rory, I'm Luke," he said._

_Rory held out her hand, he looked at it for a moment hesitating before he shook it._

"_I'll just go call you Mom,"_

_Luckily Luke knew the number to the Inn so he dialed and stepped back into the doorway of the kitchen. Rory continued to eat the pie, a little to fast for his liking, while he waited._

"_Independence Inn, Michel speaking," a heavily accented voice answered._

"_Um… Hi, may I please speak to Lorelai Gilmore please."_

"_Business or personal?" he was asked rudely._

"_Personal, I guess," Luke said. _

_The phone was slammed down and he removed the receiver away from his ear wincing. As he waited he looked around the kitchen feeling uncomfortable standing there just watching Rory eat. Next to the stove something caught his attention, he picked up the small box and turned it over in his hand examining it until he heard voices through the phone._

"_Michel, I don't have a boyfriend… I don't… stop arguing with me, I'd know if I had a boyfriend…" Luke heard the argument as the phone was picked up, "Hello, Lorelai speaking."_

"_Um… Hi…" Luke stuttered a little, "I know you don't know me… I'm Luke by the way… I have your daughter here…"_

"_Rory?" he was cut off, "is she okay?"_

"_She fine, a little upset, but fine," he told her quickly realizing he wasn't explaining thing clearly, "she came into the diner, because Weston's was closed… Darcy's dead… the caterpillar," he explained hurriedly._

"_Oh no, she must be crushed, she was so excited… diner… got it… on my way."_

_There was a click as she hung up, Luke looked at the receiver before hanging up himself. He looked back down at the box, on the counter he found some scissors, on the shelf below he a magazine, it took a little longer to find… ah, glue, he snatched that up as well. Carrying the items he found over to the table and put them down in front of Rory. She looked up at him questions in her eyes._

"_A coffin… for the caterpillar, I mean…Darcy. I thought you could decorate it…" he said picking up the match box pushing it open to show her._

"_Wow, that's a great idea," she took the box off him to have a closer look, "flowers, it should be covered with flowers."_

_She smiled at him and opened the magazine flipping through the pages looking for the perfect flowers._

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><p><strong><em>So what do you think. Continue? I'd love to hear your thoughts!<em>**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N I was origanly going to post this as two chapters but decided to give you a little extra this time... enjoy.**

**Chapter 3**

Lorelai waved good bye to the clients… her first wedding. She still could believe Mia was letting her do this, the chances she kept being given.

It had been ten years since Lorelai had started at the Independence Inn. Ten years since Mia had taken her chances with a seventeen year old runner away with a baby to take care off.

Rory. Rory had been a unexpected blessing. Not something you would often expect to hear from someone who had gotten pregnant at sixteen. Lorelai relationship with her parent had always been strained. They did not understand their daughter and did not try. Nothing she did ever pleased them. They expected her to be quiet, polite, answer only when spoken to and to be thankful for what she had, but how could she be thankful if she never really felt like it was meant for her. Debutante balls, fancy dresses, pearls weren't who she was… she tried them to please her parent but still never seemed to get it right. What five year old would want to sit quietly and listen to adults speak down to her when she could be outside jumping in puddles left by the rain the night before, what teenager wanted to be stuck inside taking ballroom lessons when the sky had just dropped a foot of soft, white, fluffy snow perfect to make snow angels.

The one good thing was she was left alone a lot. Her father worked and traveled constantly, while her mother was always busy with the DAR, some charity or trying to find a new maid. Hearing her mothers constant comments about what made a good maid came in handy after she had left home, but all this alone time gave her plenty of time to rebel, she had so many ways to sneak in and out of the house she had lost count.

At fifteen she had found a partner in crime in the form of Chris. She had know him since childhood, but something changed the year she turned fifteen. He grew a foot, started to shave and his wavy hair fell slightly in his eyes. Chris's parents had high expectations of him as well. Princeton had been getting drilled into him for as long as he could remember, but he was young and wanted to have fun while he still could. Both sets of parents had been so pleased when they started to spend time together. It was the things that they didn't see or approve of that led to Rory.

Telling her parents, had been the hardest thing she had ever done, they demanded at once that she would marry Chris. Lorelai refused. Chris was great for a good time but she knew that he was unreliable. He couldn't take care of himself, let alone anyone else. She had taken herself to the hospital when she went into labor. Chris didn't show up for two days. She stayed with her parents, lasted nearly a year with Rory there as her only company. Just before Rory's first birthday she realized that she couldn't let her parents have the same influence over their granddaughter as they tried to have over her. She wanted a real relationship with her daughter, to give Rory the childhood she had missed out on.

Lorelai packed only the essentials and caught the first bus out of Hartford, destination Stars Hollow. Arriving in the small town where she knew no one, had no where to stay and minimal money she bumped into Mia. She had been sitting on a bus bench, a crying baby in her arms when a woman walking past stopped and asked her if she needed help. Before Lorelai realized what she was doing she had told the whole story to a stranger.

Mia just happening to have a spot available at her Inn in the housekeeping department. Lorelai jumped at the chance. Mia was everything her mother had never been; supportive, approachable, accepting and there for her when she needed talk. It was also Mia that encouraged her to reach out to her parents. There wasn't much contact, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas was spent with her family, but they remained distant never visiting their daughter in her new home.

She had spent the last ten years her life revolving around only Rory and work. She worked at the Inn, lived at the Inn, ate at the Inn and rarely left its safe ground. Only in the last couple of years as Rory got older Lorelai realized that it was time to branch out. Rory needed more space, to spend more time with kids her own age and to have a childhood that did not revolve around her mothers job.

Six months ago they had found a small house, not perfect, but affordable to Lorelai's income. The slowly started exploring the town. Weston's Bakery and Andrew's Bookstore became fast favorites.

"You have a phone call," Michel French accent sneered behind her.

"Who is it?" she asked his back as he was already heading back to the desk. Having no idea who would be calling her. She never received call here.

"Your boyfriend."

"I don't have a boyfriend." she told him as she approached the desk.

"It's a man, said it was personal… you shouldn't have your boyfriends call here, I am not your personal answering service," he snapped at her.

"Michel, I don't have a boyfriend… " she said a little louder than needed,

"He said it was personal," Michel insisted.

"I don't…" he cut her off again.

"I am not your personal errand boy, he can't call here again," he huffed.

"Stop arguing with me, I'd know if I had a boyfriend…" she picked up the receiver, turned her back on the annoying French man, "hello, Lorelai speaking."

"Um… Hi…" a man stuttered on the other end of the line, "I know, you don't know me… I'm Luke by the way… I have your daughter here…"

That got her attention, she spun around to the desk.

"Rory?" she cut him off worry taking over, "is she okay?"

"She fine, a little upset, but fine," he reassured her going on quickly, "she came into the diner, because Weston's was closed… Darcy's dead… the caterpillar."

Poor Rory, she had been so excided to find that caterpillar this morning. She named him straight away. Darcy… just like it the mini series the had been watching, she had thought it perfect… appearances could be deceiving, behind the rough exterior the was something beautiful waiting to happen.

"Oh no, she must be crushed," Lorelai said, "she was so excited… diner… got it… on my way." she hung up and realizing a little too late… she didn't know where this diner was.

GG

She walked quickly across the lobby and knocked on Mia's door.

"Come in," Mia called and she entered, "Oh, good, Lorelai, how did your meeting go?"

"Good," she rusher "diner? There's a diner in this town somewhere, can you tell me where?"

"Our foods not good enough for you now," Mia laugher.

"No, it's Rory, she's in town, something's happened and I need to go get her," Lorelai explained.

"Oh dear, I hope she okay," Mia said worry now in her voice, "of course you must go."

"She a little upset, and at a diner. I didn't even realize there was a diner in this town," Lorelai said quickly.

"You must mean Luke's. it's just off the town square, just a little further down from Weston's, past Dooses Market," Mia told her.

"Luke, that's the name of the guy who called," Lorelai said as she headed back to the door.

"Luke, good. She's in safe hands," Mia called after her as she ran out the door.

Lorelai put the jeep in park in front of Weston's. She jumped out she walked quickly down the street passing the market, she stopped on a corner confused. The last store had a sign saying William's Hardware, she looked back up the street. Had she missed it. She looked into the window of the hardware store and noticed tables and chairs. Taking a step back she saw another sign above the door at the corner of the building. She rushed over to the door, pushed it open and entered. Lorelai spotted her daughter first hunched over a table working hard on something, she hadn't even reacted to Lorelai entrance. She walked straight over,

"Wow, I'm not feeling the love," Lorelai said coming to a stop beside Rory.

"Mom, hey," Rory answered barely looking up for a second.

"With welcomes like that, I should go away more often," Lorelai told her dramatically.

"Sorry, Hi Mom," Rory turned this time wrapped her arms around her mothers waist in a hug.

"That's better," Lorelai smiled taking Rory's chin softly raising her face to meet eyes, "You okay,"

"Darcy died," Rory eye's became sad just for a millisecond before brightening, "Luke gave me mud pie with gummi worms and now we're making a coffin,"

Lorelai looked down at the table to see a flowery match box surrounded by scrapes of a magazine then looked around to find a man, probably in his early thirties, wearing a flannel shirt a backwards baseball cap and several days worth of scruff on his face a few meters away trying to look busy wiping the counter while watching them out of the corner of his eye. She could imagine her mother disapproving, describing him as rustic as she looked down her nose at him, figuratively as he was actually quite tall. Lorelai couldn't help but notice the that he wore the look well, When he realized he had been caught he turned away quickly.

"Sweets," she ran a hand affectionately over daughters head, ruffled her hair a little, "I'll be right back,"

Lorelai walked over to the counter and sat down on the stool closest to him.

GG

Luke had noticed a young woman outside. She appeared lost. She looked down the street and then at the window, took a step back as if seeing something she wasn't expecting and then walked to the door. Entering she saw and quickly approached Rory. They exchanged word, after a moment Rory lent over and hugged the woman. Could… no, she was too young. Luke picked up a rag and started wiping as he watched them interact. She looked up her blue eyes burning into his. Crap… he turned away. He looked around, toaster… always playing up. He started fidgeting with the buttons. He heard a noise behind,

"Hi," he looked over his shoulder, she has sat down across the counter from him, slowly he turned to face her.

"Hey, umm…" he said, "can I get you something?"

"Sure, coffee would be great," she answered smiling at him.

He reached behind him, grabbed the pot and then a mug from under the counter. Placing it in front of her he filled the mug to the brim before turning slightly to put the coffee pot back. She picked the mug up and took a sip,

"Oh my God," she startled him and his eye's flew back to her, "this is the best coffee I've ever had," she moaned making Luke shift uncomfortably.

"That stuff will kill you!" he grunted.

She held the cup away for a moment and eyed it, with a shrug of her shoulders she brought it back to her lips.

"At least I'd die happy," she smirked, took another sip and put it down.

Not the reaction he was expecting, Luke looked down at the counter, disturbed by the fact that watching her drink her coffee made him kind of want some, and he hated coffee.

"I'm Lorelai," she introduced herself with a smile.

"Luke… Danes," he responded.

"Like James… Bond," when he didn't respond, "007,"

"I know," he told her.

"Right…thanks for taking care of my daughter," she said looking at her daughter affectionately.

"Daughter, right. That's okay…" he blushed slightly, "…I've gotta…"

He gestured towards the kitchen, turned away and disappeared through the doorway.

GG

Lorelai's eye's followed him as he walked away, she picked up her mug and headed back over to her daughter and sat down.

"So, a coffin huh," she watched Rory work,

"Yeah… it was Luke's idea. Do you think when we get home we could have a funeral, bury him in the garden?" Rory asked without looking up.

She looked back towards the kitchen where he was still hiding. She hadn't been able to get a read on him, he had barely said a word to her but he seemed to make an impression on Rory.

"I think that's a wonderful idea," Lorelai replied, "so he…"

The bell rang above the door and Lorelai turned to see Kirk enter. She hadn't officially met the man but had been hearing stories for years and seen him at a distance on a few occasions. He paused as he entered looking at them, he walked over and watched Rory glue a flower she had just cut to the box. Luke excited the kitchen and saw him standing over Rory as she worked.

"You have a crafts table?" Kirk asked,

"No," Luke said rolling his eyes.

"But, she's doing crafts," he pointed at Rory, "I can see her cutting and gluing. You've never let me cut and glue in here,"

"Your not doing crafts Kirk," Luke told him.

"But I love crafts," Kirk whined.

"Leave," Luke had had enough.

"But…"

"Get out," Luke snapped, then happened to catch Lorelai's blue eye's sparkle with laughter as she hid a grin behind another sip of coffee.

"Luke," Rory asked distracting him for a moment by asking, "can you come to the funeral?"

"Funeral?" Luke asked confused.

"Darcy's," Rory told him.

"Can I come," Kirk butted in. Luke glared at him before turning back to Rory.

"I guess I could come," he surprised himself by answering ignoring Kirk.

"You never come to things I want you to come to," Kirk whined.

Luke tuned his glare back on Kirk. Kirk knowing he was getting close to pushing Luke too far left quickly before he could get banned from the diner again.

Lorelai laughed out loud and Luke's eyes went back to her as she muffled her laughter behind a mouthful of coffee.

"What time?" he asked as he made himself busy cleaning up the scraps of paper from the table.

Rory looked at her mother,

"How's seven?" Lorelai suggested.

"Seven, I think I could make it… rush should be over by then," he said, "…where?" he asked scrunching the scraps into a tight ball in his hand.

"We're just off cherry blossom," she told him, "up the end a little back off the street, number 34."

"Next to Babette," Luke realized out loud.

"Exactly," Lorelai replied.

"Oh, can we invite Babette and Morey," Rory asked

"Sure, sweets," Lorelai smiled warmly at her daughter.

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><p><strong>So what do you think?<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far, I love the feedback.**

**Chapter 4**

Luke walked across the town square. It would be the first time in nearly a year that he wouldn't be at the diner for closing. Ben had been shocked by Luke's request but had quickly said yes because his hard working boss never took time for himself. At six forty five Luke had run up into his apartment and returned several minutes later carrying something in a plastic bag. The towns people who remained in the diner when he left spent the rest of their evening trying to figure out where he was going and what was in the bag.

Luke wasn't sure why he has said yes when asked to go to a bugs funeral. He didn't go to town things. He didn't get involved in the towns activities so why had he agreed to attend a funeral being held for a bug. He had only just met Rory and her mother. Lorelai… he had actually caught himself staring off into space thinking about her while he should have been working, he still couldn't believe she has a ten year old daughter, she didn't look older than twenty five. Miss Patty had noticed something was up and spent the next hour grilling him trying to get information. He hadn't thought of a woman like that in nearly forever. The sparkle in her eyes as she laughed at him, he felt his cheeks flush slightly just by the thought of it.

They had left soon after he had kicked Kirk out. It was before Miss Patty had arrived for which he was thankful.

"Hi sugar," Barebette called drawing his attention from the house he was approaching.

"Hey Barebette," Luke answered with a quick wave.

"What you doing here?" she asked making him pause.

"I ahhh…" the door of the Gilmore girls residence opened and Rory ran out butterfly wings flapping behind her saving him from answering the question. Lorelai followed at a slower pace stopping on the porch.

"Luke you came," she ran up to him took his had and pulled him in the direction of the house.

"I said I would," He told her catching Lorelai's eye.

"Morey, I need the phone," as Baebette screeched as she ran inside.

Luke looked back to where Barebette had disappeared as he was dragged across the yard.

Lorelai watched them approach, a sad smile on her face for just a moment before it disappeared.

"Welcome to the crap shack," she greeted him as he reached the porch.

He raised an eyebrow not understanding what she meant. Nothing that came out was what he expected. Seeing his confusion Lorelai continued,

"The house, it was a fitting title when we bought it still is I guess, but its home" she smiled as he approached.

Luke put his had on the railing as he climbed the stairs onto the porch. He paused when he felt it move under his slight pressure.

Noticing his attention shift she shrugged, "see what I mean?"

"I'll bring over my tool box tomorrow and fix it," he told her as he examined it closer.

"That's okay, its fine… we just have to remember not to lean on it." she said waving him off.

"It's not fine, it's a hazard. It won't take me long to fix," Luke replied.

"Well, aren't you the regular night in shining armor. Come inside before you spot anything else that may need to be fixed," She held the door open allowing him and Rory to enter. Luke looked down to notice Rory still holding his hand. Uncomfortable he tried to pull away but she used her other hand to stop him.

"Come on everyone is waiting," she told him as she took off again pulling him behind her.

"Everyone," he looked behind him at Lorelai.

"It's amazing the crowd my daughter can pull together," he was told with a smile.

Luke felt himself pulled through the hall, into the kitchen and out into the backyard. A moment after they stepped outside all conversations came to a halt as everyone turned to stare.

"Oh, God," Luke grumbled as he became the center of attention.

"What are you doing here?" Gypsy called out

"Yeah, you don't come to these kind of things," Bootsy added.

"Lucas, it's so nice to see you outside of the diner," Mia walked over to him, "I could hardly believe it when Lorelai and Rory told me about their afternoon," She smiled at him.

"Hey Mia," he mumbled ignoring the other comments.

Rory let go of his hand went a short distance and returned box in hand.

"I showed everyone the box we made," Rory told him holding it up,

Luke face went red as heard her announcement.

"When we got home mom found some cotton wool so Darcy would be more comfortable… see," she continued not noticing his embarrassment. She held up the open box to show him the caterpillar lying peacefully inside.

A few people had now started to whisper quietly and Luke shuffle uncomfortably.

"Looks…ahhh… good," he stuttered.

Luke looked down as he felt something cold get pushed into his hand,

"I think you could use this," Lorelai said as he looked at the bottle of beer. He nodded his silent thanks, twisted the top off and downed half the bottle in one go.

"Wow, easy there tiger," Lorelai gently lay her hand on his arm, " you don't do this kind of thing often huh?" she asked softly so no one else would hear.

He just shrugged. She watched him a moment longer before turning to the group.

"Okay people, lets get this party started," Lorelai announced demanding everyone's attention, "I would like to thank everyone who could make it today for this sad occasion. As you all know Darcy has left us for a better place," Lorelai went on captivating her audience.

Luke felt a small body lean on him and he looked down at his side to the little girl beside him, without thinking he put a comforting hand on her back unknowingly sending the wings flapping again.

"And now a few words from the little lady who gathered us all here today," Lorelai turned to her daughter and paused at the sight of her and Luke.

She had never seen Rory this way before, she had never taken to a man like this before. To see her take so suddenly to a stranger baffled Lorelai, scared her. The only men in her life were her father and grandfather. Chris was mostly someone she talked to on the phone from time to time, who would on the rare occasion show up and then disappear again without warning. He made promises that he rarely kept and as time went on Rory spoke less and less of him. When she had been younger she had asked after him regularly wanting to know why her parents weren't together like all her friend in school, but with each disappointment the mention of his name dwindled.

Rory only saw her grandfather three times a year. The had never really talked, just tolerated each others presence when in company.

Lorelai stood there staring for a minute, she wanted to protect her daughter, she didn't want to see her get attached to someone who might not be their for her later. It was why Lorelai had never tried dating. The thought of hurting her Rory was too great.

Lorelai softened a little as she watched Luke rub Rory's back. She knew little to nothing of this man except for a few details shared with her by Mia when they had returned to the Inn. Mia had told her that Luke had lost both his parents, how after his fathers death he pulled back from the town, how he didn't want to be close to people because everyone he had been close to had left or died. It was not a picture Lorelai had been expecting. The Luke she met seemed a little shy, gruff but kind hearted, he had helped an upset child he didn't know without expecting anything in return.

Sookie, her best friend, had been happy to fill her in on some of the gossip, the ex-girlfriend that came in and out of his life, the things people said behind his back, but from everything she had been told the picture before her made little sense. Here was a man she had been told who had nothing to do with children. Who was well know by the town as a loner. How had they connected so quickly?

Realizing that she was not alone in her staring she turned slightly, mouths gaped open, as the people behind her watched Rory and Luke.

The pair did not seem aware of the attention they had gathered. Lorelai cleared her throat and took a step toward her daughter,

"Hon, do you wanna say a few words," she asked bending down.

"What?" Rory looked up at her mother and then Luke.

Luke having noticed the stares removed his hand from Rory's back and took a step away.

Rory watched him distance himself as her lower lip began to quiver.

* * *

><p><strong>Let me know what you think, good or bad I take it all.<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Luke, having never had much experience with children didn't know what he should do, he took off his cap and ran a nervous hand through his hair. The girls lip wobbled and tears appeared in her eyes. His eyes shot to her mother who was still bent in front of her.

"I... ahhh," Luke tried to find the words but didn't know what to say, "jeez."

He stepped back forward quickly kneeling in front of Rory aware of the audience surrounding them. She looked up at him waiting. He reached out and gently took the caterpillar coffin from her.

"Where did you want to bury this?" he asked looking her in the eye.

"I... I thought under the tree where I found him," Rory told him.

"Outside your bedroom window, right?" he asked, she nodded, "can you show me where the tree is?"

Luke stood up and held out his hand ignoring the whispers. A small hand took his; she paused and held her hand out to her mother as well. Silently they walked around the house with a stream of people following. They stopped at the tree next to the front porch. Luke turned to her again.

"We need to dig a hole, do you have a shovel?" he asked looking between mother and daughter. Rory also looked up questioning her Lorelai.

"Sorry never needed one before," Lorelai said with a shrug of her shoulders.

Luke dropped Rory's hand as he looked around, found a stick and tested the dirt around the tree.

"I got one, sugar," Babette called out and took off across the yard.

"We need some music," another little girl announced coming up beside Rory, "I have just the thing,"

"We can use my CD player," Rory said, "put it up to the window, so we can hear it,"

The girls ran off inside, a moment later the window was pushed open. Babette panting as she raced back drew their attention away.

"Here... hhhh... doll," she breathed as she handed him a small gardening shovel.

"Ahhh, thanks," Luke accepted it and crouched down and tested the soil again, turned to Lorelai, "can you hold this a minute," he asked.

"You want me to touch a dead bug?" she squirmed moving away from his outstretched hand.

"Jeez, it's in a box," he grumbled giving her no choice but to take it.

He shook his head and tried to hide a threatening smile as she held it with the tips of just two fingers as far from her body as possible. Finding a good spot he dug a small hole. From inside the house music started:

_Some things in life are bad  
>They can really make you mad<br>Other things just make you swear and curse.  
>When you're chewing on life's gristle<em>

Luke looked over at Lorelai as she chucked at the girls choice of music, surprised that he actually knew the song.

"You let your daughter watch 'Life with Brian'" Luke asked.

"What… like I could let her miss a comedy gem like that…" she smirked at him "…of course it is an edited version, she is only 10 after all. What kind of mother do you think I am," she teased. "you don't come across as a Monty Python type of guy, I'm surprised you know it."

"My father, he liked British humor," Luke smiled a little as the song continued.

_Don't grumble, give a whistle  
>And this'll help things turn out for the best...<em>

_And...always look on the bright side of life...  
>Always look on the light side of life... <em>

Luke went back to digging as the girls reappeared looking very happy with themselves, finishing the hole he stood up. Lorelai had passed the box to Rory when she stopped between her mother and Luke.

Things moved quickly after that. Darcy was buried, everyone had a few drinks and some food and soon people began to leave. Luke was one of the first to leave citing the dinner as his excuse. Before he left he reminded them of his offer to look at the porch railing and they set a time in the evening for him to come over,

"Join us for dinner," Lorelai offered.

"I couldn't put you out," Luke replied.

"Putting us out," Lorelai laughed drawing a few looks, "it's the least we could do. We always have leftovers. It would mean less to throw out.

"Okay, I guess I'll see you at six, is that too early."

"Six is perfect, Luke. And thank you," she touched her hand to his arm and he looked down at it before his eyes returned to hers,

"Umm, for what…" Luke asked, unsure.

"Everything, Rory, the funeral, the porch… I'm sure if I had known you longer the list would be a whole lot longer," Lorelai smiled.

"I…I'll see you tomorrow," Luke told her not knowing what else to say, and rushed off. As he reached the end of the driveway he glanced back to find Lorelai watching him leave, a smile on her face.

* * *

><p>Some things in life are bad<br>They can really make you mad  
>Other things just make you swear and curse.<br>When you're chewing on life's gristle

Don't grumble, give a whistle  
>And this'll help things turn out for the best...<p>

And...always look on the bright side of life...  
>Always look on the light side of life...<p>

If life seems jolly rotten  
>There's something you've forgotten<br>And that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing.  
>When you're feeling in the dumps<br>Don't be silly chumps  
>Just purse your lips and whistle - that's the thing.<p>

And...always look on the bright side of life...  
>Always look on the light side of life...<p>

For life is quite absurd  
>And death's the final word<br>You must always face the curtain with a bow.  
>Forget about your sin - give the audience a grin<br>Enjoy it - it's your last chance anyhow.

So always look on the bright side of death  
>Just before you draw your terminal breath<p>

Life's a piece of shit  
>When you look at it<br>Life's a laugh and death's a joke, it's true.  
>You'll see it's all a show<br>Keep 'em laughing as you go  
>Just remember that the last laugh is on you.<p>

And always look on the bright side of life...  
>Always look on the right side of life...<br>(Come on guys, cheer up!)  
>Always look on the bright side of life...<br>Always look on the bright side of life...  
>(Worse things happen at sea, you know.)<br>Always look on the bright side of life...  
>(I mean - what have you got to lose?)<br>(You know, you come from nothing - you're going back to nothing.  
>What have you lost? Nothing!)<br>Always look on the right side of life...

_**Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life, Eric Idle a great funeral song for the person with the right sense of humor.**_

_**A/N: it's a little short but it's been so long since i've updated, i thought a little was better than nothing.**_


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